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Monday, 31 August 2015

Sounds very corny and very American I’m sure you’ll agree. That’s because it is. I borrowed it from the corporate bullshit of my former employer. It might sound like nonsense but it kind of needs to be a necessity for those of us on the centre left. If the progressive left is going to progress then we need to get our message out there to as many people as possible.

Given that most of the mainstream media (including the BBC) is either owned by or controlled by the right wing, we are left with very few outlets in which to broadcast our positive ideas and policies. The alternative is to do it ourselves. In reality it’s our only choice. Social Media is the obvious first step but that doesn’t embrace everyone. There are large numbers of people out there who either through personal choice or circumstance don’t want to or aren’t able to access social media. We need to take our message onto the streets. Explain it to people we meet. We need to wear our message and leave it in strategic places.

As Billy Bragg sings, possibly tongue in cheek, in Waiting for the great leap forward:

“So join the struggle while you may

The Revolution is just a t-shirt away”

...and how true that is. If we are going to convince people that there is a better way. A way that doesn’t favour the few over the many, then we need to shout about it. At every opportunity the left wing viewpoint needs to be aired. One by one we can change minds. Go forth sisters and brothers and spread the word.

I see nothing wrong with graffiti particularly if plastered on the property and the tools of the oppressors. Sticking posters over ads for the likes of Sky television might be a useful exercise. So might sticking stickers on the Daily Mail, the Sun and other reactionary newspapers; ‘Warning! This rag contains fascist lies!’ might seem appropriate.

In my own subtle and wimpy way I’ve made a first start. I carry a rucksack to work. I walk through the city and then get on a bus. There is space on the face of my rucksack doing nothing constructive. Or it wasn’t until now. Now it's sporting a nice red 3” badge proclaiming that AUSTERITY IS A LIE, and truly it is. A lie invented by the Tories to enable the rich to become even richer and the poor to become even poorer. And so many people have fallen for their lie. My badge is just the beginning; from small acorns etc etc.

I urge you to do the same. Get out there. Word up!

Today I read this article by Owen Jones in which he makes some very valid points. If Jeremy Corbyn wins the Labour leadership vote then it's not mission accomplished, it is just the beginning of a very long and, what will need to be, determined struggle. The prize could be a just and equal society if we don't waiver.

Thursday, 6 August 2015

Tonight I witnessed something quite remarkable. And something that five months ago I would have thought was not possible; enthusiastic, smiley happy people attending a political meeting. Labour party people mostly, plus labour supporters, and no doubt, the odd curious reactionary as well. But for the good part the audience were party members, including myself. We had to queue at Open in Norwich, a venue that is normally host to music acts, for about an hour just to get in. The queue was long, very long. Several hundred yards long. Blimey I thought, you don't even get queues this long for popular beat combos.

Why the queues? Well. JC was in town. No, not that JC, but, Jeremy Corbyn; conviction politician extraordinaire. And hoards of ordinary people like me had turned up to hear him speak. Sadly the meeting was so popular that not everyone could get in. Apparently about two hundred people were denied access as the venue had reached capacity. So what did Jeremy do? He went and addressed the people outside first. How cool is that?

Anyone who thinks that Jeremy Corbyn's popularity is bolstered by infiltrators and Tory sympathisers hoping that Labour will elect a leader who will not be popular with the electorate at large is very much mistaken. I would wager that the majority of his support comes from genuine committed labour supporters who want a leader that puts equality and policy before personality, and believes in opportunity for the many rather than for just a few. What the New Labour Blairites don't get is that we want our party back and we want it back now! We don't want to be told what we can and can't do by Oxbridge suits. We want a people's party with policies that benefit the whole of society. A party that will oppose the Tories rather than mimic them. 'Tory Light' has no place in the Labour Party.

If I was in any doubt about which leadership candidate I was going to vote for before tonight I'm not now. Jeremy Corbyn gets my vote. A vote for JC is a vote for REAL LABOUR.

I really hope that this time we can make a difference. That we can start to affect real political change. Political change that will challenge the evil Tories and the austerity lie.